Monthly Archives: October 2008

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Pirates Of The Caribbean on-screen couple Keira Knightley & Orlando Bloom are apparently considering a reunion for The Fever Returns, which is either a second sequel or a remake to the 1977 classic dance flick Saturday Night Fever (trailer above), details are unclear. The film will be set in Hoddedson, a small British town and all I can say is….WTF?

Push is a new action/sci-fi movie directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin), written by David Bourla (Nostradamus) and boasting a talented cast comprised of Chris Evans (Street Kings), Dakota Fanning (The Secret Life Of Bees), Camilla Belle (10,000 BC) and Djimon Hounsou (the underrated Never Back Down).

Resembling somewhat the X-Men and Heroes, the film has young people with telekinetic and clairvoyant powers trying to escape from an evil agency. The film has been criticized for having poor special effects, but I think this trailer looks pretty cool and the effetcs seem fine to me. That and I think the cast is great and McGuigan’s last two films were great. Give me your thoughts in the comments.

It was previously announced that both original star Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen would return for the xXx franchise’s third installment, entitled xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage. Cohen has now confirmed filming should start next spring for a summer 2010 release. I keep wondering what they will do with xXx 2‘s mention that Cage was killed during the Bora Bora holiday he takes at the end of the first film. Resurrected by ninjas?

“Eli” revolves around a lone warrior (Washington) who must fight to bring society the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption. Oldman has been set to portray the despot of a small makeshift town who’s determined to take possession of the book Eli’s guarding.

Written by newcomer Gary Whitta and Anthony Peckham (Don’t Say A Word), Book Of Eli marks the return of sibling directors Allen & Albert Hughes (From Hell), the film will start shooting in New Mexico this February for a January 2010 release.

Sony Pictures has just released the first trailer for Angels & Demons, the second film in the franchise following author Dan Brown’s hero, Harvard symbologist Robert Langon, after 2006’s The Da Vinci Code. Tom Hanks returns in the lead, as do most of Da Vinci‘s crew, including director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who co-penned the adaptation with David Koepp (Ghost Town). Joining the cast are Ewan McGregor (Deception), Ayelet Zurer (Vantage Point) and Stellan Skarsgård (Mamma Mia!). My one question is why did they make such a big deal of hiring a French actress to play Sophie Neveu in the first film only to have an Israeli portray Vittoria here?

This trailer is certainly riveting, and a much better one than that first look of The Da Vinci Code, which simply showed cracks in the Mona Lisa. I agree with the general feeling that Angels & Demons (which came before Da Vinci) is a much better novel than its more famous little brother, and interestingly enough, I found it also quite pro-christianity. Then again, I also felt that The Da Vinci Code wasn’t that anti-christianity. In any case, I wonder if Angels & Demons will be set as a prequel, or if it was reworked as a sequel. Angels & Demons will be released worldwide mid-May 2009. Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Mike Nichols (Charlie Wilson’s War) will helm a remake of High And Low/The Ransom (trailer above), a detective film by legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, the film that inspired The Magnificent Seven). David Mamet (Redbelt) wrote the adaptation, which is loosly based on the Evan Hunter novel King’s Ransom. Source.

Mike Sobel, a former criminal lawyer, is writing Skyscraper for Universal Pictures and producer Neal H. Moritz (Made Of Honor). It will be a disaster film in the vein of The Towering Inferno, where construction on a mile-high building in Chicago will take an unexpected and dangerous turn. Source.

Barry Sonnenfeld (RV) is in talks to helm Bronwyn And Clyde, a romantic comedy written by Tom Vaughan and Kristy Dobkin. Source.

Acclaimed filmmaker Gus Van Sant (Paranoid Park) will direct The Electric Kool-Aid Test, based on a non-fiction book by Tom Wolfe (The Right Stuff). The story recounts Wolfe’s experiences with fellow author Ken Kesey (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest) and people called the Merry Pranksters driving around in a school bus and taking LSD. Dustin Lance Black (The Journey Of Jared Price) is writing the script. Source.

Author Neil Gaiman (Beowulf) has confirmed an adaptation of his bestselling The Graveyard Book is in the works. The story tells of a boy raised by ghosts. Source.

Prolific music video director Marc Webb will write and direct the sci-fi flick Age Of Rage, which is described as Children Of Men meets Lord Of The Flies. Source.

Randall Wallace (We Were Soldiers) is adapting the Outlander series of fantasy novels into a potential franchise.

[Diana] Gabaldon’s series of six novels center on an 18th century Scottish Highlander and his time-traveling wife.

From what I hear, the story is more romance than action, but then again, Randall Wallace is writing…Oh wait, he wrote Pearl Harbor, I take that back. Source.

Samuel L. Jackson (Lakeview Terrace) will portray the villain Sho’nuff in a remake of the 1985 martial art cult film The Last Dragon (trailer below).

The updated plot will be along the same lines of the original, centering on young martial arts student Leroy Green in his quest through the streets of New York to achieve the highest level of martial arts accomplishment, known as the Last Dragon. Those who achieve the high ranking possess the Glow, making them the greatest fighter alive.

Ashley Tisdale is in my opinion one of the best things to come out of High School Musical, a franchise I will write an in-depth article sometime soon when I have the time. Though she hasn’t done that much yet, the 23 year old is a joy to watch as Sharpay Evans in the Disney series of films and I’m convinced she’s capable of some great stuff in the future.

Suddenly is a single from her debut album Headstrong, and easily the best song I’ve heard from her, or any of the HSM crew’s solo efforts for that matter. A slow ballad about attaining her dreams aka making it as a performer, it’s not the greatest ever made, but I find it quite a pleasant listen. Similarly the music video isn’t amazing, but in tone with the song, and thus quite good. What do you think?